Personal Injury

Published on: January 30, 2014

Alarming Increase in Spinal Cord Injuries across U.S.

According to a new study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the number of traumatic spinal cord injuries recorded in the United States is on the increase. Another major change that the research showed is that the primary cause of serious spinal cord injuries in the United States is no longer automobile collisions, but slip and fall accidents.

The Johns Hopkins research analyzed a total of 43,137 adults who received treatment in hospital emergency rooms after suffering a spinal cord injury. These adults were treated for their injuries between 2007 and 2009. The researchers found in their analysis that the incidence of spinal cord injury in the 18-64 age group ranged from 52.3 injuries per million in 2007, to 49.9 million in 2009.

While that constituted a drop in the number of traumatic spinal cord injuries that were recorded in this age category, there was an increase in the number of spinal cord injuries recorded among older citizens. In the 65 and above age group, the number of spinal cord injuries actually increased during the study period. These injuries increased from 79.4 injuries per million adults in 2007, to 87.7 injuries per million adults in 2009.

Published on: January 16, 2014

Alcohol-Related Bicycle and Pedestrian Accidents Remain High

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

There’s plenty of awareness about alcohol-impaired fatalities involving motorists, but not much is known about the fact that alcohol-impaired fatalities involving pedestrians and bicyclists have remained consistently high over the past few years. According to a new report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, it’s just as dangerous to walk or ride a bicycle under the influence of alcohol, and it’s high time that pedestrians and bicyclists were made aware of these risks.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report, the proportion of intoxicated pedestrians and bicyclists killed in accidents has changed very little over the past 20 years. Back in 1992, the percentage of pedestrians above the age of 16, who died with a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or above, was 39%. In 2011, that number had dropped by two percentage points to 37%.

Among bicyclists, the researchers found that the fatality percentage rate when alcohol was involved was approximately 26% in 1992, and had dropped to 25% in 2011. The statistics seem to indicate that there has been barely any difference in the number of alcohol-impaired pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities over the past 20 years. During the same period of time, there have been substantial declines in the number of motorists killed in alcohol-related car accidents.

Published on: December 6, 2013

Georgia State Agencies Urge Safe Travel over Holidays

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The year’s busiest travel season has begun, and a number of Georgia state agencies are joining hands to educate motorists about the need to drive safely during the holidays. The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and the Georgia State Patrol are encouraging motorists to avoid speeding and distractions, and concentrate on getting to their destination safely.

Just before Thanksgiving and New Year’s day, we see the heaviest amount of traffic on GA roadways.Not surprisingly, the accident, injury and fatality rate is also very high during these weeks. Every year, the Georgia State Patrol calls attention to the need to reduce speed, eliminate distractions at the wheel, and avoid driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. These three factors account for a majority of all traffic accident fatalities that occur during the holiday season.

It is important to remember that many motorists over the holiday season are in a hurry to finish their shopping, meet up with friends, and take part in other activities. Many of these motorists will be driving at excessive speeds, and even if you don’t plan to drive at high speeds, know that there will be many speeding motorists on the road this holiday season. While you can’t do anything to change other motorists’ driving habits, you can increase your chances of being safe and reduce the risk of a fatal accident by making sure that you and everybody else in your car is safely buckled-up.

Published on: November 25, 2013

Tips for Safe Holiday Gift Shopping for Children

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Most retailers across the country are reporting early holiday shopping this year as consumers start buying for family, co-workers, and friends.Many of those gifts will include children’s accessories, toys, and other products. This is the right time of the year to remind parents that the toys and products that they choose for their children must be safe from the risk of injuries.

Most injuries related to children’s products involve the face and head, including a large number to the eyes and forehead area. Unfortunately, there are far too many children’s toys that come with removable parts and sharp parts that pose a serious eye injury hazard.When you buy toys as gifts this holiday season, avoid toys that come with protruding parts, spikes, or sharp or pointed edges.

Avoid buying guns and shooting toys, or toys that come with parts that fly off. These can actually turn into dangerous projectiles, and can cause injuries not just to the child who is using the toy, but also other children and adults in the environment.

Published on: October 25, 2013

Researchers Work on Touch-Sensitive Prosthetic Limbs

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Researchers at the University of Chicago are currently working on a prosthetic limb that includes a sense of touch. The limb would give a person a sensory touch, and not just allow him to perform motor activities.

The researchers have published the results of their experiments in the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Obviously, this is a major step forward in prosthetics development, and this is a field that has already seen some interesting advancements in the recent past. Earlier, prosthetic hands, legs and limbs, were clunky, mechanical gadgets, which would allow a person to walk or move their arms, but in a cumbersome manner. They were uncomfortable to wear and even more uncomfortable to use. In fact, many prosthetic limbs were actually painful to use for long periods of time.

However, in 2013, the kind of prosthetic limbs that a person who has had his limbs amputated due to accident or any other cause are highly advanced, and very light. They’re made from ultralight materials that are not just strong and stable, but also very convenient and comfortable to wear.

Published on: October 7, 2013

Highway Safety Expected to Be Affected by Government Shutdown

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Certain highway safety initiatives across the country are likely to be affected by the federal government shutdown, which is currently in effect. While some agencies that are responsible for auto safety are likely to be negatively impacted, others that are responsible for trucking safety, fortunately, may escape unscathed.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is one of those agencies that is expected to be affected by the shutdown and resulting lack of funding. This is the federal agency that is responsible for highway safety activities across the country, and therefore, this is one shutdown that has the potential to affect the safety of motorists and passengers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration may be forced to cut several employees as part of the furloughs. That in turn, could also impact not only highway safety, but also trucking safety to a certain extent, because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also regulates trucking equipment.

Published on: August 26, 2013

Preventing Car Accidents in Foreign Countries

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Approximately 50% of medical evacuations back to the United States each year involve Americans who are injured abroad in car accidents. That information comes from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, which also says that car accidents are the leading cause of fatality among American travellers abroad, killing more Americans every year abroad than illness.

However, while travelers often focus heavily on vaccinations and medications to keep themselves safe, very few vacationers pay close attention to the fact that if they are involved in an accident overseas, the trauma may be compounded by the fact that they are in a foreign, sometimes developing, country.

If you are vacationing in a developing country, it is important to understand that not all of these destinations will have laws that require you to wear a seat belt while driving, or place your children in car seats. Regardless of whether the country’s laws require you to do so, you should always wear a seatbelt while riding in a car, and use approved car seats for your children as well.Use car seats and booster seats just as you would back home.

Published on: August 2, 2013

Georgia ATV Accidents and Off Road Vehicle Safety Concerns

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

There have been a number of ATV-related accidents reported in Georgia over the past few weeks, and unfortunately that number is expected to increase as the weather remains nice into the fall months.

In one accident, a man suffered injuries when the ATV he was riding with his wife tipped over.The husband was trapped underneath the ATV, and suffered serious injuries.In another more recent incident, a man was killed in an ATV accident when his machine collided with another vehicle.

Both of these accidents involve adult users of ATVs, but most injuries involving ATV accidents every year involve teenagers and children.This is in spite of the fact that ATV use by children is not encouraged.In fact, it is highly recommended that children below the age of 16 not be allowed to ride ATVs at all.

Published on: June 28, 2013

Helmets Greatly Reduce the Risk of Serious Bicycle Accident Injuries

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

As many as 75% of all fatal bicycle accidents are believed to involve a head injury.There is no doubt that a traumatic brain injury is the single biggest safety risk for a bicyclist involved in a crash.A new analysis finds that sports-related bicycling injuries account for more head injuries every year than football or baseball.

In many states around the country, including Georgia, wearing a helmet is not mandatory.The reasons for this vary, but generally the safety aspect of this bicycling has been largely neglected because it is such a popular activity and a favorite pastime for so many Atlantans.This is in spite of the fact that there is enough research to suggest that wearing a bicycle helmet may be the only thing protecting a bicyclist from serious injuries in an accident.

In fact, recent Australian research focused on the kind of injuries suffered by bicyclist who were not helmeted at the time of an accident, and found that wearing a helmet can help protect bicyclists from all but the most severe impacts.

Published on: May 20, 2013

More Effort Needed to Reduce Georgia Bicycle Accidents and Fatalities

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Bicyclists in the metro Atlanta region continue to remain at high risk for injuries and fatalities.New data released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that there were 14 “pedalcyclist” accident fatalities reported in Georgia in the year 2011.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration puts bicycles, unicycles, and other non-motorized vehicles in a single group called “pedalcycles.”

Those figures account for approximately 1.1% of the 1,223 traffic accident fatalities reported in 2011.Overall, Georgia had a bicyclist fatality rate of approximately 1.43 fatalities for every 1 million population.

Statistics were not much better across the rest of the country.In fact, there was actually an increase of 9% in the national bicycle accident fatality total for 2011.Overall, there were 677 pedalcyclist fatalities in the United States in 2011.These accidents also contributed to more than 48,000 injuries.